Gateway Gardens and blackolive Sign Collaboration Agreement

Frankfurt Estate Agency to Become Lead Estate Agent for New District near Airport

The property company Grundstücksgesellschaft Gateway Gardens GmbH and Frankfurt real estate advisor black olive advisors GmbH signed an agreement that will govern the marketing of Gateway Gardens, a new district at Frankfurt Airport City.

Since the completion of the first building in 2008, more than 33 percent of the space have already been marketed. The cooperation with a lead estate agent is meant to continue this trend. Indeed, given the number of sales contracts now signed or about to be signed in the near future, project stakeholders expect to be able to raise the sales ratio up to 40 percent soon.

“blackolive, as an external resource, will provide additional assistance to our so far successful marketing approach,” said Dr. Kerstin Hennig, Managing Director of Grundstücksgesellschaft Gateway Gardens and in charge of marketing. “We were hugely impressed by the long-term experience, the excellent network and the motivation that the blackolive team brings to the job,” Hennig went on to say.

Oliver Schön, co-founder and Managing Director of black olive advisors GmbH, confirmed the bright prospects: “We are very pleased with this agreement that lets us operate as lead estate agency for Gateway Gardens. As far as we can see, this is one of the largest and most exciting real estate projects in Germany. It is a rare thing for an estate agency to be given the opportunity to collaborate in the development of an entire city district. What persuaded us most was the integrity of the concept. There are few if any corporate locations in Europe that boast the same level of mobility. Accordingly, our marketing efforts will focus primarily on companies operating either nationwide or internationally, specifically in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medicine, consultancy and logistics, but we will also approach aviation-related companies.”

With a projected gross floor area of 700,000 square metres on an estate of 35 hectares, Gateway Gardens is one of the largest urban district developments of any airport city in Europe. Frankfurt's new district straddles several of Germany's key transport arteries: the largest international airport, the largest airport railway station, and the busiest motorway interchange in the country. After 2019, Gateway Gardens will also be integrated in the city's urban railway system. The combined workforce of the companies now based here adds up to more than 4,500 people.

In February 2014, the property company Grundstücksgesellschaft Gateway Gardens initiated a design study process for four high-rise locations. The eight finalists among the development draft plans are meant to inspire companies, investors and developers and offer specific architectural design proposals for the new buildings. The towers, some of them up to 80 metres high, will top the existing Alpha Rotex building of 68 metres, currently the tallest office building at the airport. The development of the high rises will give the city of Frankfurt am Main a new south-west skyline.

Background Details on Gateway Gardens

Gateway Gardens is a “Global Business Village” in the European heartland, and with a projected gross floor area of 700,000 sqm on an estate of 35 hectares one of the largest developments of any airport city in Europe. In October 2014, Gateway Gardens became the first commercial quarter to be certified with the DGNB Gold Certificate for sustainability. Until 2005, Gateway Gardens was a residential area for the families of US Air Force personnel working at the former US Rhein-Main Air Base. Since then, the compound has become not just a quarter within Frankfurt's Airport City, but also a new district of the city proper, billed as Frankfurt-Gateway Gardens. The driving force behind Gateway Gardens is the joint commitment of Fraport AG, Gross & Partner Grundstücksentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, OFB Projektentwicklung GmbH, and the City of Frankfurt am Main. In the years since the completion of the first building at Gateway Gardens, which was the catering plant of LSG Sky Chefs in 2008, 30 percent of the area has already been sold. The combined workforce of the companies now domiciled here adds up to more than 4,500 people. By the end of the marketing drive, that number will have grown as high as 18,000 people.

The company:STRAUSS & CO. Development GmbH is the German property development arm of STRAUSS & PARTNER Development GmbH. The company covers the market segments of office, commercial and residential real estate, infrastructure projects, healthcare and concessions in Central and Eastern Europe. STRAUSS & PARTNER Development GmbH delivers all of its services – from planning and development, to construction and marketing, all the way to property management – as a one-stop shop. The group limits its activities exclusively to sophisticated high-end and high-yield properties intended for owner occupation or as asset investment.